Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Quilting Our Communities

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers share personal artifacts and use them to make a classroom community quilt.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Classroom Museum

For Teachers 1st - 4th
Students investigate various aspects of culture. They collect artifacts from various resources as an ongoing project throughout the school year. Students reflect upon the differences in cultures and subject areas as they conduct research...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Unearthing Ancient Greece

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students locate and analyze clues about ancient Greek life. In this ancient Greece lesson, students look at art, architecture, and artifacts to determine what was important to the Greeks and discover details about their culture. Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Today We Encountered the White Man

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students analyze and interpret artifacts and a timeline to get specific information.  In this timeline lesson plan students work in groups to research an Indian tribe and write an information piece of their research. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Public Displays of Contention

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners consider historic events or movements that may be viewed as controversial by different groups of people, and then create proposals supporting the inclusion of specific artifacts to be displayed in related museum exhibit
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Random Strategies in Archaeology

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students critically evaluate cultures according to their artifacts. In this Random Strategies in Archaeology lesson, Students interpret evidence in order to better understand ancient societies. Students watch films that affect their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Everyone has Interesting Stuff

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine a random collection of artifacts. In this deductive reasoning and cultural awareness lesson, students will pair up and examine a given artifact. Each student will attempt to use the artifact's attributes and apparent...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Ancient Cliff Dwellers of Mesa Verde

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students research evidence discovered during Mesa Verde archaeological dig, view images of ancient artifacts, simultate real dig and reconstruct items buried on school grounds, and create newsletter or video tape skit.
Worksheet
Curated OER

The Story Within Worksheet

For Students 6th - 8th
In this reading artifacts worksheet, students imagine they have arrived on earth from another galaxy and write a description of an object they have found. Function, form , and meaning of the object are revealed when students answer 6...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Photograph / Special Object Worksheet

For Students 6th - 9th
In this fieldwork application activity, students utilize a photo or object that they brought to class to study. Then they follow the directions on the activity and interview a classmate, using the 13 questions, about his or her photo or...
Organizer
Curated OER

Mapping Material Culture Worksheet

For Students 6th - 8th
In this folk regions worksheet, students study the objects by visiting the URL links, and then decide whether each of the 25 belongs in the North Louisiana, South Louisiana, or New Orleans folk regions.
Activity
Shell Education

Leaders from the 1790s

For Teachers 6th - 8th
The Founding Fathers contributed to the United States in many ways. Class members explore various Founding Fathers through research, group work, and realia. The final product of group work are posters and artistic representations of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

History Did Happen in My Back Yard!

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders interpret historical evidence presented in primary resources. In this Louisiana history lesson, 8th graders research their parish history using the LOUISiana Digital Library resources. Students create multimedia...
Activity
Vermilionville

Mardi Gras—Secondary

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
Add a little glitter to your Mardi Gras celebration with a packet that includes information about the history of Mardi Gras. It also provides information about how different communities celebrate the holiday, as well as templates for...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Milestones of Flight

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Discover seven of the most historic aircraft and spacecraft in the collections of the National Air and Space Museum. By research into the major milestones of aviation history your students will recognize features that enable flight,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fun-Factory - NOT!

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students design a solution to a problem based on the Industrial Revolution. In this design lesson plan, students come up with architectural designs and present them to teachers in a simulated factory.
Lesson Plan
Ford's Theatre

How Perspective Shapes Understanding of History

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The Boston Massacre may be an iconic event in American history, but perhaps the British soldiers had another point of view. Using primary sources, including reports from Boston newspapers and secondary sources from the British...
Lesson Plan
Maryland Department of Education

Our Children Can Soar

For Teachers 4th - 5th Standards
Amazing efforts of African American leaders are celebrated in a lesson on civil participation. The engaging resource focuses on primary and secondary sources to analyze the impact of African American leaders such as Ella Fitzgerald....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Creating An Understanding of the Past/Through The Art of George Catlin and Native American Artifacts

For Teachers K - 6th
Students explore Native American culture. They observe and discuss the paintings of George Catlin. Students examine the lives of the Pawnee Native American Indians during the time period of 1830-1840. Numerous cross curriculum activities...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Forward March: Continuing Frederick Douglass' Footsteps

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers view numerous artifacts from the life of Frederick Douglass. Using the objects, they discover the many parts of his life and develop a hypothesis about the significance of the objects in his life. They identify the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

History at Home: The Object Box

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students examine "artifacts". In this anthropology lesson, students analyze possible uses for objects such as washboards, hot water bottles, and old magazines. Students record and share their speculations with their classmates.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Historical Witness: Social Messaging

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
Research European expansionism and colonialism during the Age of Exploration. Study the Marquise de Miramon and discuss the objects from Japan. Research Europe's expansionism and colonialism during the Age of Exploration by working in...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Artifact Puzzles

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students role-play the position of archaeologists to determine the different types of artifacts. They cut out a drawing of their object and connect them with their classmates objects. They write an essay about their object and where it...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Shoebox Dig

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students participate in a simulation in which they dig for artifacts in a shoebox filled with objects. In groups, they record the types of material and artifacts found in each layer. To end the instructional activity, they answer...